December 13 is the Feast of St. Lucia or Lucy of Syracuse, Sicily. From Lives of the Saints, Volume 3, by Catholic Press:

In the Roman Martyrology, Saint Lucy is called both virgin and martyr, and in both titles lies the secret of her sanctity in the Roman Empire of the fourth century. Recent excavations in Syracuse, the ancient capital of Sicily, revealed both her tomb and an inscription dating from the end of the fourth century that mentions her feast day. She is known to have been honored in Rome in the sixth century and she is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. Lucy, whose name means "light" was invoked by the devout of the Middle Ages as the patroness of those afflicted with any eye disease. In art she is often shown carrying a dish with two eyeballs on it. The poet Dante prayed to Saint Lucy for the relief of an eye ailment, and in his Divine Comedy he gave this saint one of the most honored places in heaven, next to that of Saint John the Baptist. Much of what we are told about Saint Lucy may be legend. The earliest account of her martyrdom, although written some time before the sixth century, is not considered authentic.

Lucy means "light" and she is the patron of eye troubles and blindness. As mentioned above, she is often portrayed holding her eyeballs on a dish, although in the painting above by Francesco del Cossa has the eyes held in a more unique way. Her feast originally coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feastday has become a feast of light...of course, not The Light, but pointing to Christ our Light.. There are so many approaches to thinking of light -- Christ the Light of the World comes at Christmas; Christ our Light in the Paschal Candle at Easter; we see light through the gift of eyesight; we are enlightened by our Faith and grace; light comes through sunlight, fire, electricity; scientific analysis of the speed of light and the light spectrum, the rainbow colors...and this merely scratches the surface.

All over the world we remember this virgin-martyr saint less than 2 weeks before Christmas. Whether you embrace the Lucia Child of Sweden, the Sicilian customs or particular family traditions, light should play a prominent role in the feast!

I don't have a girl, so we don't play up the Swedish Lucia much. I decorate with a few Swedish items, and pictures of St. Lucy. I have a Brass Lucia Crown with real candles that I received as a Christmas present one year, a Dala horse, and Swedish Angel Chimes. I had a set of these as a young girl and loved seeing the candles and hearing the sweet soft chimes. I found mine at an antique store for a few dollars, and I thought it would be a perfect addition for a feast with light.

I wanted to decorate my brass wreath with lingonberryleaves, which are used in Sweden, but not native to USA. After much searching I found at one of the craft stores a long artificial garland with similar leaves and berries. Perhaps one day I'll have a daughter who can wear the LuciaCrown. It seems that even in Sweden battery operated candles are the way to go. Safety first! Some craft and party ideas:

This site has almost every image of St. Lucia on holycards imaginable.

Books:

I reviewed Lucia, Saint of Light, which now runs the top of our Lucia book list. This story includes both the life of St. Lucia and the Swedish traditions of the Lucia bride.

Lucia: Child of Light by Florence Ekstrand. The history and tradition of Sweden's Lucia celebration. Includes recipes, songs, and other traditions related to this Swedish celebration.

LuciaMorning.com gives the information for the book Lucia Morning in Sweden by Ewa Rydaker, with illustrations by Carina Stahlberg. A living story about Lucia Morning traditions in Sweden, but also includes recipes, music, and patterns for a Starboy and Lucia gown.

Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Janet Shaw, from The American Girls' Collection. A wonderful story about Kirsten and her first Christmas in Minnesota and her struggle to make her Christmas similar to ones in Sweden, including her Lucia Morning. The companion cookbook Kirsten's Cook Book includes a recipe for St. Lucia Buns.

Not all foods for this feast day are Swedish. Italians and Sicilians have some wonderful recipes for celebrating this day, too. There are quite a few recipes on Catholic Culture including St. Lucia Cats, St. Lucy Buns, St. Lucia Crown...

The use of saffron in some of these recipes points back to the light reference, with the yellow reminding us of sunlight. A very simple approach to getting the yellow or saffron on the dinner table is making a variant of yellow rice. There are recipes from various cultures, or the simplest route of using box mix like Zatarains, Goya, or Mahatma.

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation every corner of our day. Amen.

December 10, 2009

A beautiful Hungarian and Croatian custom on the feast of St. Lucy (December 13) is to plant the "Christmas wheat" on that day. It will be sprouted and ready to add to the manger as a soft bed for the Baby Jesus by December 24. The new green shoots are also a reminder of the new life born in Bethlehem.

If you don’t normally keep wheat berries on hand this is a chance to get some before the 13th. You can purchase them at most health food stores. And if any one couldn't do wheat other grain berries such as rye or barley, or even grass seed could be substituted. Choose a container - tray, shallow round dish, flower pot, basket. Line the bottom of your growing container/basket with approx. 2 inches of potting soil (or vermiculite mixed with soil). Sprinkle wheat berries over the soil in a single layer. Cover with a very light layer of soil. Lightly water the seeds with a spray bottle. To speed the growing you can pre-soak the seeds for 6-12 hours until they have started to sprout slightly, then plant.

Place container in a warm area but not in direct sunlight. Cover it with newspaper or paper towel. Each day mist the seeds with water. Do not use too much water – just keep moist. Remove the newspaper once the leaves start to sprout (usually a couple of days). By Christmas Eve you'll have several inches of lovely green "Christmas grass". Then the children may carry it to the creche as a gift for the Child Jesus, symbolic of the Eucharistic bread by which He feeds our souls at the altar as well as of the staff of life by which His Father keeps life in our bodies. It also reminds us Christ, the Bread of Life, was born in Bethlehem, whose name means "House of Bread." They could be tied with a ribbon and a candle may be placed near them as a symbol of the Light of Christ, as is suggested in a couple sources.

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. ~John 12:24

In researching I found other cultures (France, Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia) where setting out seeds to sprout before Christmas was a tradition - some associated with the Feast of St. Barbara, December 4 instead of St. Lucy. In this recollection of a Danube Swabian celebration, it describes how the Christmas ritual began on December 4, St. Barbara Day. A drinking glass was placed up-side-down in the center of a shallow bowl or plate. Grains of wheat would be planted around the outside. On Christmas Eve this would be the centerpiece on the table. The glass was removed and a candle was put in its place. A bright red ribbon was tied round the bowl and the candle was lit.

In France on the feast of Sainte-Barbe, children plant wheat or lentils, barley, chickpeas, or any seed that sprouts quickly, in a saucer: providing some greenery in the cold winter days, a precursor of the spring. These seeds are described as being sown on a piece of cotton wool, kept moist with water. Tradition says that when the seeds show a healthy growth by Christmas, the new year will be prosperous.

Another association of wheat with St. Lucy is an Italian tradition of eating bowls of a cooked wheat porridge known as cuccia. The tradition comes from a time when during a famine, the people of Syracuse prayer to St. Lucy, who interceded and a ship arrived laden with grain.

Too late for this year, but the Confraternity of Penitents also will provide St. Lucy Wheat Kits to those who request them - donations accepted.

Each of these exclusive, multi-page paper doll sets are available as PDF downloads for only $4. It's always nice to have quality hands on activities for the children to learn about traditions of our faith and cultures around the world.

The saint is depicted accurately as a true historical figure canonized by the Catholic Church.

The humanity of the saint is depicted.

The saint’s love for Jesus Christ and His teachings is shown through the story with examples of prayer, virtue, and love for his/her neighbor. There is also an evidence of cooperation with God’s grace.

The story should inspire my child to imitation. It should help him see what is meant by the term "saint", and instill a desire to become a saint.

When a story depicts or explains some historical legends, symbols, patronage, and/or cultural customs still with a focus on the Christian roots of them all, I find this an extra bonus.

This doesn’t mean I limit myself to only those books that fit my criteria. I just find that if we read stories about customs or traditions that are derived from saints, but if they are written for children it takes a little more discussion to bring the point that this is a fictionalized story and not really about the saint.

Lately, it is getting harder to find picture books on saints that fill my wish list. That's why I was so excited when I read Lucia, Saint of Light by Katherine Bolger Hyde, illustrated by Daria Fisher. This book fulfills all my desires in a saint biography and is the perfect book to read for the Memorial of St. Lucy.

I was drawn immediately by the title, as Lucia is referred to as a "saint". After reading the first sentence, "Today is my nameday!" I knew this book was a keeper.

The story revolves around Lucy and her family, an American family of Swedish descent. The family celebrates the Swedish customs of the Lucia Bride and all the baked treats on the feast of St. Lucia on December 13, also sharing their customs with other families. Lucy's mother discusses with Lucy the true St. Lucia and her life and martyrdom, and also ties in the explanation and connection of the Swedish customs with the saint.

The illustrations and story really paint a living picture of St. Lucia (or St. Lucy), helping a child understand how heroic she was, and that she was an actual historical figure. While this book was written by an Orthodox writer, Catholics and Orthodox both honor St. Lucia and this book bears that commonality. The main item a Catholic reader might notice missing is the connection of St. Lucia and her eyes. The Catholic tradition invokes St. Lucia's intercession against eye afflictions, but this is not the same in the Orthodox tradition. The author presents St. Lucia's heroic death for love of Christ, but also does spare gory details, like her eye removal.

The recipe for Lussekatter (Lucia Cat Buns) is included. I had never noticed before that the buns were in a shape of cross!

Also included is the sheet music to Santa Lucia, with original lyrics based on the traditional Swedish lyrics. I really like the author's interpretation, which has more of a Christian view of St. Lucia. There are also quite a few web links provided as resources. For more information, see the author's website.

Lucia, Saint of Light (alternative source for the book is Conciliar Press) by Katherine Bolger Hyde is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it. If you're looking for a book for a nameday celebration, or just need to decide on one title for the Feast of St. Lucy on December 13, this would be my pick.

Disclaimer: I received a copy to review, and the links to Amazon will provide me a few cents to apply to another book to review if you decide to buy this book.

December 12, 2008

This year I bought my own copy of a childhood favorite Christmas craft book, Christmas Magic, The Art of making Decorations and Ornaments by Margaret Perry, copyright 1964. My sisters and I would pore over these pages and try to do as many projects with the materials we had at hand. The book is out-of-print, but very inexpensive copies can be found easily. Although secular in nature, there are so many great ideas.

As I revisited this book, I remembered how much I enjoyed the image of her Lucia doll and her description:

Lucia Dagen, or Lucia's Day, is celebrated in Scandinavia on the thirteenth of December to welcome in the Christmas season--the season of light.

Lucia (pronounced Loo-see-a) is the Queen of Light.. She dresses in a long white robe and wears a crown of lighted candles on her head, as she walks from room to room at dawn, carrying a tray of coffee and rolls to all the members of the family.

many of the offices of Scandinavia today the custom is followed. Sometime during the day, on the thirteenth of December, Lucia comes with lighted crown and a tray of rolls and coffee.

Here we havea 12-inch doll to celebrate Lucia Dagen. Her robe is made of white silk, and her corwn holds seven 3 1/2 inch candles. It is made on an embroidery hoop 4 inches in diameter--which just fits her head. The candles, evenly spaced, are attached with masking tape. Princess pine is wound around the hoop and held in place with very fine wire.

We rarely light her candles--unless we are watching carefully--but she stands in the hall to greet our guests as a symbol of the season of light.

As a young girl, I never thought I could recreate this idea, so I didn't even try. But this year I realized I didn't really have an image of Santa Lucia, Queen of Light, and this chapter came to mind. I have a box of old dolls and one I could use to create a Lucia Doll of my own.

I wish I could say it was a success story, but it's not. It's another "not quite there"crafting attempt, but I thought I would share anyway. I loosely followed Mrs. Perry's instructions, but used what I had on hand. My doll was named "Freckles", with white blond hair. I first cut out a white gown for her to wear. But I had sewing machine troubles and never could get a single stitch done. So Freckles has to wear pink, and it's not even her original dress.

I didn't have an embroidery hoop, but I did find some of those plastic child-sized cups from restaurants fit quite nicely, so I cut the rim off (punctured a hole in the middle of the cup to keep the rim intact) and colored it with permanent marker. From there I used some faux lingonberry branches, green florist wire and white Chanakah candles (I bought on sale this summer since they were such a nice size) to attach the greenery and candles to make the crown.

My mistakes: I didn't attach the candles first and only used 6 candles. I used green chenille stems to cover up the wire I used to hold the candles, so don't look too closely.

I think she does look cute, and pretty convincing in a quick glance sort of way as a Santa Lucia. Now that I've made one, I'm ready to recreate and work through some of my mistakes.

December 13, 2006

December 13 is the Feast of St. Lucia or Lucy of Syracuse, Sicily. From Lives of the Saints, Volume 3, by Catholic Press:

In the Roman Martyrology, Saint Lucy is called both virgin and martyr, and in both titles lies the secret of her sanctity in the Roman Empire of the fourth century. Recent excavations in Syracuse, the ancient capital of Sicily, revealed both her tomb and an inscription dating from the end of the fourth century that mentions her feast day. She is known to have been honored in Rome in the sixth century and she is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. Lucy, whose name means "light" was invoked by the devout of the Middle Ages as the patroness of those afflicted with any eye disease. In art she is often shown carrying a dish with two eyeballs on it. The poet Dante prayed to Saint Lucy for the relief of an eye ailment, and in his Divine Comedy he gave this saint one of the most honored places in heaven, next to that of Saint John the Baptist. Much of what we are told about Saint Lucy may be legend. The earliest account of her martyrdom, although written some time before the sixth century, is not considered authentic.

Lucy means "light" and she is the patron of eye troubles and blindness. As mentioned above, she is often portrayed holding her eyeballs on a dish, although in the painting above by Francesco del Cossa has the eyes held in a more unique way. Her feast originally coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feastday has become a feast of light...of course, not The Light, but pointing to Christ our Light.. There are so many approaches to thinking of light -- Christ the Light of the World comes at Christmas; Christ our Light in the Paschal Candle at Easter; we see light through the gift of eyesight; we are enlightened by our Faith and grace; light comes through sunlight, fire, electricity; scientific analysis of the speed of light and the light spectrum, the rainbow colors...and this merely scratches the surface. All over the world we remember this virgin-martyr saint less than 2 weeks before Christmas. Whether you embrace the Lucia Child of Sweden, the Sicilian customs or particular family traditions, light should play a prominent role in the feast!

I don't have a girl, so we don't play up the Swedish Lucia much, yet. I decorate with a few Swedish items, and pictures of St. Lucy. I have a Brass Lucia Crown with real candles that I received as a Christmas present one year, a Dala horse, and Swedish Angel Chimes. I had a set of these as a young girl and loved seeing the candles and hearing the sweet soft chimes. I found mine at an antique store for a few dollars, and I thought it would be a perfect addition for a feast with light.

I wanted to decorate my brass wreath with lingonberryleaves, which are used in Sweden, but not native to USA. After much searching I found at one of the craft stores a long artificial garland with similar leaves and berries. Perhaps one day I'll have a daughter who can wear the LuciaCrown. It seems that even in Sweden battery operated candles are the way-to-go. Safety first!

Another appropriately themed craft would be making candles. A simple way that would make a great gift is Teacup Lights.

Not all traditions for St. Lucia are from Sweden. There is a Croatian and Hungarian custom of planting the St. Lucy Wheat on this day. See St. Lucy and the Christmas Wheat from The Year and Our Children and Christmas Wheat from Maria von Trapp.

Images: This site has almost every image of St. Lucia on holycards imaginable.

Books:

Lucia: Child of Light by Florence Ekstrand. The history and tradition of Sweden's Lucia celebration. Includes recipes, songs, and other traditions related to this Swedish celebration.

LuciaMorning.com gives the information for the book Lucia Morning in Sweden by Ewa Rydaker, with illustrations by Carina Stahlberg. A living story about Lucia Morning traditions in Sweden, but also includes recipes, music, and patterns for a Starboy and Lucia gown.

Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Janet Shaw, from The American Girls' Collection. A wonderful story about Kirsten and her first Christmas in Minnesota and her struggle to make her Christmas similar to ones in Sweden, including her Lucia Morning. The companion cookbook Kirsten's Cook Book includes a recipe for St. Lucia Buns.

Not all foods for this feast day are Swedish. Italians and Sicilians have some wonderful recipes for celebrating this day, too. There are quite a few recipes on Catholic Culture including St. Lucia Cats, St. Lucy Buns, St. Lucia Crown... The use of saffron in some of these recipes points back to the light reference, with the yellow reminding us of sunlight. See also:

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation every corner of our day. Amen.

Christmas Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour
and moment
in which the Son of God
was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight,
in Bethlehem,
in piercing cold.
In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God!
to hear my prayer
and grant my desires,
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen